Pecking Order

It was but a glance, a little smirk that the German and French leaders shared in public when asked about Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and his country's economic woes. But that moment at a recent crisis meeting made it very clear where Italy — and everyone else — stands in the Eurozone pecking order. Many Europeans realize that their futures are being increasingly dictated by Germany and France — in that order of importance — personified by a mashup of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy dubbed "Merkozy.

It was but a glance, a little smirk that the German and French leaders shared in public when asked about Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and his country's economic woes. But that moment at a recent crisis meeting made it very clear where Italy — and everyone else — stands in the Eurozone pecking order. Many Europeans realize that their futures are being increasingly dictated by Germany and France — in that order of importance — personified by a mashup of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy dubbed "Merkozy.

Deepening shades of night are falling. It's the twilight of the Laker demigods. Eight seasons of Shaquille O'Neal and (or vs.) Kobe Bryant have led us wobbling into today and the most eagerly awaited NBA game since Michael Jordan left the Bulls, which will go a long way toward deciding these Finals, not to mention the Lakers' future and the league's balance of power.

They wrote that the newcomer was full of promise, but young and untested. He might be a figure of some substance, they reported, if he didn't get carried away with his own charisma. Barack Obama's run through the presidential campaign gantlet came very much to mind as another heralded newcomer, Gustavo Dudamel, faced the media last week on his first national tour as musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. With the returns now in from the eight-city adventure, the nation's critics didn't exactly send the Venezuelan-born conductor home a loser.

Jack Farrell, the long-time cross-country coach at Thousand Oaks High, made the remarks during the awards ceremony at last Saturday's Foot Locker West regional in Fresno, but he could have been summing up the thoughts of anyone involved in high school distance running. "That's a girl who's gone from running 21 minutes (for three-miles) two months ago to (17:33) today," Farrell said of Nordhoff freshman Elaine Canchola as she accepted her medal for finishing second. "It's absolutely amazing.

A Los Angeles County prosecutor of some of the Manson case defendants, Stephen Kay, complained that two of them, Charles (Tex) Watson and Bruce Davis, are getting "special privileges" working in the chapel in the California state prison at San Luis Obispo. Some fellow inmates also were criticizing Watson for using his position as minister and counselor at the Protestant chapel to order administrative discipline against those who object to his teachings.

The Clippers have committed 23 turnovers in each of their last two games and have lost both games to grateful opponents eager to capitalize on their mistakes. The Clippers have averaged 18.4 turnovers in five games to start the season after averaging 14.8 in 2001-02. "We've got to make better decisions," Coach Alvin Gentry said Saturday. "We've got to be smarter. Our effort has been fine.

Our freshman was looking back the other day on the good old days of middle school. For a while, she revealed, the teachers had banned a particular kind of candy, which naturally had rendered it wildly popular. If you wanted it, you had to pass the word to a kid named Sal, who walked with a suave, homeboy limp. When no one was looking, he'd sidle up in his big pants and whisper, "Sour apple or the red kind?

Encyclopedias, atlases and almanacs have plenty of useful information, but even they don't know quite everything. For example, what if you wanted to know which U.S. city has the most hospital beds per person? Or which breed of dog is responsible for the most fatalities from bites? The answers to these questions are in "What the Odds Are," just one of a number of recent volumes that are not only sources of somewhat unconventional knowledge, but are fun, too.

On Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation, Winslow Friday is preparing to surrender in his long fight with the federal government. The seeds of the conflict were planted four years ago when Friday shot a bald eagle out of a tree. His cousin needed a tail fan for an upcoming Sun Dance, the Northern Arapaho tribe's most important religious ceremony, and Friday wanted to help. So when Friday spotted the bird, he seized his chance. Charged with killing a bald eagle in violation of federal law, Friday had argued that the law hinders the practice of his religion -- a battle closely watched on the reservation.

THOSE backyard birds love millet and sunflower seeds, but do they love Rapson and Davidson? It should come as no surprise that the truly modern household now can have a truly modern birdhouse, including one that takes its cues from Case Study modernists Ralph Rapson or J.R. Davidson. Whether in rustic woods, stainless steel or eco-friendly recycled plastic, the newest designs for birdhouses and feeders are fresh takes on the old pine boxes and bell-shaped seed balls of yesteryear.

September 3, 2006 | Andy Cowan, Andy Cowan is a writer, producer and performer. His credits include "Cheers," "Seinfeld" and "3rd Rock From the Sun."

I continue to search for my place in the universe, so I signed up for a 14-day trial run on IMDbPro.com, the performance-enhanced version of the Internet Movie Database. It's just one of the mirrors that we in Hollywood peer into to see if there is a reflection staring back. In this universe, I discover what I'm "known for," including the credits associated with shows that still cough up green envelopes in my mailbox, with thirst-inducing residual checks inside.

Welcome to the NBA's newest discount superstore, a place filled with pallets of hope and jumbo-size dreams. The Clippers are now Sam's Club. "I was told that if I can get the Clippers to the playoffs, I'd be the king of L.A.," said Sam Cassell, shaking his head. "I said, 'For real? Because that's one heck of a place to be king.'

For years, the small wooden tearoom stood by itself, a remote stop on the way to the beach where travelers could swing by for a hearty meal of fried chicken and warm homemade biscuits, not to mention the prized boysenberry jam. The old tearoom near Beach Boulevard is still there, buried now by its surroundings: seven sprawling dining rooms, rows of new buildings, billboards and one of America's best known amusement parks -- Knott's Berry Farm. Mrs.

A little chicken will carry the weight of a studio in November, when Walt Disney Co. hatches its first full-blown computer-animated feature, "Chicken Little." Disney investors and many in the animation community will closely watch the box office performance of the comedy, which aims to put a new twist on the classic fable of a young chicken who causes widespread panic when he mistakes a falling acorn for a piece of the sky.

That fabled Ram pecking order you've heard so much about took a beating this season, especially in the secondary, where aspiring defensive backs used to wait quietly on the bench while age and protocol was served. Then came injuries and, of course, Vince Newsome--known better as The Taz. The Taz has soft, docile eyes. You trust these eyes. The smile disarms, as does the gentle voice. You would buy a time-share condo in Cleveland from this man.

October 12, 1992 | MONICA MORRIS, A sociologist and writer relates a brush with the Social Security bureaucracy

As a professor, I've always been treated with respect--or I was until I went to the Social Security office on Sunset Boulevard to deliver my birth certificate to clear up an eligibility question. "Call me on the office telephone," the counselor had said. "If you can't get through, ask the guard to fetch me." I dialed the requisite number. No answer. Two armed guards herded the crowd like cattle, barking orders, yelling numbers. "You can't stand there," one said. "Sit over there!"

New Angel pitcher Paul Byrd developed a bit of a cult following in Philadelphia and Kansas City, where teenagers congregated in the upper deck on the nights he started, wearing feathers on their arms, rubber bird beaks and hats that looked like nests. The 34-year-old right-hander was hoping to spark a similar phenomenon in Anaheim, but there was no visible Byrd's Nest in Angel Stadium for his Angel debut Friday night. Only Boo Byrds.

Do binoculars look like the eyes of a cat to a tiny house wren? In last week's Outdoors section, interpretative specialist Tracy Albrecht had the nerve to suggest that, when it comes to spooking wildlife, "The bird-watchers are the worst." Birders across the state instantly flamed and, for 90 minutes, the online birder exchange Calbirds was afire. 10:59 a.m. Nov.